The present invention relates to a lighting fixture adapted for use in a high-abuse area such as schools, hotels, houses of correction, dormitories, gymnasiums and other places where fixtures are exposed to unintended as well as purposeful mistreatment or abuse. More particularly, the invention is directed to an "EXIT" sign type fixture especially fabricated to withstand and survive physical shock, impact and generally deleterious treatment.
Fixtures of the character in which the present invention finds utility are of the type which display indicia or illuminated legends as aids to identifying safe passageways or exit doors Such fixtures are used for insuring safe egress from a peopled area, particularly in the event of some emergency such as that posed by a fire.
While the critical importance of such fixtures has long been appreciated, and while extensive efforts have been made to design and fabricate fixtures for the role intended and which will be versatile and at the same time strong enough to withstand physical abuse, impact, and other mechanical shock, no completely satisfactory fixtures have heretofore been devised. Each suffers from one or more inadequacies or deficiencies. In some cases the physical arrangement of component elements limits or even precludes multiple optional uses, versatility or general adaptability for separate, yet functionally related, applications. In other fixtures, in which a selectable, physically-distinct specific sign sheet is used as a medium for carrying and presenting a desired legend to be displayed, the techniques and structures employed to retain the sheet immobile and properly oriented and in place within the fixture itself, have proven ineffectual. Such fixtures have been found incapable of withstanding the physical challenges posed, particularly in high-abuse areas. In still other fixtures of the prior art, the method used in assembly of the various component elements of the fixture have resulted in final products which lack or are seriously deficient in aesthetic appeal. Some of the fixtures have been unable to withstand the strains imposed by or related to broad ranges in ambient or environmental temperatures.
It is, therefore, a principal aim of the present invention to provide an improved fixture which obviates many of the shortcomings of prior art structures.